This week there was a massive explosion in Beirut from tons of chemical stored unsafely.  In a very dark hour, their enemies, Israel, are offering aide.  So does Lebanon receive the aid as a genuine act of goodwill, or should they be suspicious that goodwill is mixed with political maneuvering and perhaps even spies?

It’s a challenge that every nation faces.  How much do you trust the intentions of potential enemies?  It’s not easy.

David again initiated kindness this time it was with the Ammonites.  The King of the of Ammonites had previously been kind to David, and he remembered that.  When the king died and his son, Hanun, took his place.  David wanted to show kindness to his son as well.

So David sent emissaries to properly mourn Hanun’s father and to bring them blessing.  But the associates of Hanun said it was a trap to spy out the land.  So Hanun believed them, shaved off half their beards, and cut their tunic in half so that half of their personal area was exposed unless they held it shut.

The emissaries were humiliated.  David told them to stay away until their beards grew back, and David fumed in anger.  When the Ammonites realized David’s fury, they gathered their armies and went to war against him.  The Ammonites, deficient in number, hired the Arameans.

So when David’s army went out to war, the Israelites were sandwiched between the Ammonites on one side and the Arameans on the other.  But the Israelites fought and drove out both armies. So much so that the Arameans were afraid to ever help the Ammonites again.

What we see time and time again is that the Lord was with David.  The Lord regularly delivered him from his enemies even in dire situations.